Bernard Schoenburg: Chicago TV station looks into governor's work habits

Bernard Schoenburg

Thursday

Nov 29, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 29, 2007 at 7:57 PM

A Chicago television station is raising questions about Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s work habits and what role they play in the gridlock that has gripped the legislative process in Springfield this year.

A Chicago television station is raising questions about Gov. ROD BLAGOJEVICH’s work habits and what role they play in the gridlock that has gripped the legislative process in Springfield this year.

MIKE FLANNERY of WBBM-TV in Chicago was to run a five-minute story – that’s a long time in local-TV terms – Wednesday night that included results of the station’s cameras keeping track of the governor.

“With the knowledge of his state police bodyguard detail, CBS2 news watched for several days over three weeks, repeatedly finding the governor at home during normal business hours with no one other than his family coming and going,” Flannery said.

Using governor’s office records, the station reported that, over the last four months, Blagojevich has made an average of one scheduled public appearance every five days. The station wasn’t told how many impromptu public appearances might be added to that. But the station also estimated that the governor has taken questions from reporters only two or three times a month.

In contrast, Flannery said, Chicago Mayor RICHARD DALEY typically faces reporters three or four times a week. U.S. Sen. DICK DURBIN, D-Ill., does so “almost every day,” he said.

The piece also stated that “insiders report” that Blagojevich is often up before dawn at his home on the northwest side of Chicago, making conference calls from a small office in the home, and sometimes using a political campaign office a few blocks away.
“Governor’s staff told us he’s often in the state Capitol,” Flannery said. “Others we spoke to call that laughable. Those sources say the governor is rarely seen in Springfield and is often absent from his Thompson Center office” in downtown Chicago.

Blagojevich also did not have a full Cabinet meeting during his first term, the report said.

“Insiders tell us that Blagojevich prefers to focus on the big picture, leaving details to his deputies,” Flannery said

The story quotes state Sen. LARRY BOMKE, R-Springfield, as an example of how Blagojevich’s word is questioned. Bomke was referring to the promise he received from Blagojevich’s former chief of staff, LON MONK, that state funds would be provided to reopen the Lincoln Developmental Center. That never happened, even though Bomke fulfilled his part of the deal by voting for a Blagojevich pension bond initiative. The governor later said he was reconsidering what to do at the LDC site.

As Flannery reported, lawmakers now often require promises from the governor to be in writing. He also talked to TAYLOR PENSONEAU, former Statehouse reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch who has written biographies of governors, who said demanding such written assurances from a governor is unprecedented.

Flannery also interviewed me for the story, which is how I first learned he was working on it, and he let me in on parts of the story hours before its scheduled run.

The story takes note of the governor’s sidestepping of the General Assembly, such as Blagojevich’s recent initiative to allow better-off families to take advantage of a state-subsidized health care program. Flannery also quotes Blagojevich saying that he’s “going to continue to do what I think is right. That’s one of the good things about being governor.”

WBBM-TV was promoting the story before its airing, including the title: “Exposing Blagojevich.”

I let Blagojevich spokeswoman REBECCA RAUSCH know I was writing about the story, and she provided this response:

“No amount of sleazy journalism can distort the fact that Gov. Blagojevich works hard for the people of Illinois. Whether he is at the governor's mansion in Springfield or Hayes House in DuQuoin, in meetings at the Thompson Center or Statehouse, working from his home office, or juggling his responsibilities as governor with those of being a father -- the governor is in contact with his staff and other leaders around the clock dealing with the issues that impact people all over Illinois. He can, and does, conduct business from wherever he is.”

The story is available at www.cbs2Chicago.com

SUBHEAD

I recently wrote about six deputy chiefs of staff to Gov. Blagojevich – mostly younger folks I didn’t know or didn’t know well.

It turns out there are a couple more deputy chiefs. Gubernatorial spokeswoman Rausch sent me some bio information about them, and the comptroller’s office provided salary information.

JOSEPH HANDLEY, 47, of Decatur, is deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs. He began in that post with the new Blagojevich administration in January 2003 and makes $130,416 annually – all paid by the governor’s office. His duties include reviewing legislation, overseeing legislative offices for state agencies and promoting the governor’s legislative agenda. He previously worked for House Democrats and was district director for then-U.S. Rep. DAVID PHELPS, D-Eldorado. He is married and has three children.

STEVEN GUERRA, 53, of Chicago, is deputy chief of staff for social services. He is paid $120,000 annually out of the Department of Human Services budget. He works with the departments of aging, children and family services, human services, public health and employment security. He also works with the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, the Illinois Deaf and Hard of Hearing Commission, the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities, and the Illinois Violence Prevention Authority.

Guerra has been with the state since 2003. He previously was director of the division of community health and prevention at DHS and has held leadership positions with non-profit organizations including Jane Addams Hull House Association and Chicago Youth Centers, and was a consultant to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Coalition to End Barrio Warfare, and the National Urban Bishops Coalition of the Episcopal Church.

Guerra was in the news in September, when the Chicago Sun-Times reported that he served 23 months in prison after being convicted of contempt of court in New York in 1983. Guerra had refused to testify in connection with investigations of a Puerto Rican separatist group that claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings in the U.S. that killed six and injured dozens from 1974 to 1983.

“Steven was never a member of FALN or involved in activities that posed a threat to the public,” ABBY OTTENHOFF, another Blagojevich spokeswoman, said at the time, according to the Associated Press. “He clearly and unequivocally condemns the violence attributed to FALN.

KEVIN GORDON, long known as assistant manager of the Illinois State Fair, recently moved to the secretary of state’s office, where he is an analyst with the programs and policies staff.

The brother of state Rep. CAREEN GORDON, D-Coal City, Kevin Gordon, 46, this fall was given new duties at the fair. JEFF SQUIBB, spokesman for the Department of Agriculture, said at the time that Gordon kept his $60,624 salary and official title of public service administrator. But he had been given responsibility for managing various service contracts necessary to stage non-fair events.

Hired to do some of the things Gordon did earlier was KRISTI KENNEY, 25, who was brought in as bureau chief of business services, which oversees non-fair events. She has an agricultural communications degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and is seeking a master’s in public administration from the U of I at Springfield. She worked in the state fair press office last summer. She is being paid $62,508 annually.

HENRY HAUPT, spokesman for Secretary of State JESSE WHITE, said Kevin Gordon’s “wealth of experience” qualifies him for his new job. Gordon’s 18 years at the state includes work at the departments of Central Management Services and Public Aid as well as Agriculture. Gordon imakes the same salary as he did at the fair. Gordon replaced Haupt in the analyst position.

SUBHEAD

The candidate filing period that began Wednesday was only for GOP presidential candidates and people who want to be delegates and alternates to the Republican National Convention. So it makes sense that the line outside the State Board of Elections Wednesday morning was pretty short.

But one of those delegate candidates differed from the rest. Former state Rep. ROSCOE CUNNINGHAM, a Republican from Lawrenceville, is running to go to the convention uncommitted to any presidential contender.

Cunningham, 64, who served in the House from 1971-79, now publishes the Sumner Press in Sumner. He said the paper has a circulation of 10,000 – “if five people read each copy.”

That sense of humor is just part of the oratorical wonder of Cunningham. And he’s pretty strong about the reasons why 15th Congressional District Republicans should make one of their convention delegates an uncommitted one.

“It is intellectually dishonest to … disenfranchise the voters so soon,” Cunningham said. “It’s nine months until we have the convention, and anything could happen in that length of time.

“I’ll put in an 800 number for all the people in the 15th District,” he said. “They’ll be able to call me until the (convention) gavel falls. I’ll listen to them. I’m committed only to the voters of the 23-county 15th District. These other people are already bought and paid for.”

“I’m not going to say that derogatorily about them,” he added. “But you need to keep the doors open.”

Bernard Schoenburg is political columnist for The State Journal-Register. He can be reached at (217) 788-1540 or bernard.schoenburg@sj-r.com.

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